Incredibles 2

“Three original stories are set during and after The Incredibles 2: At the dedication of a new submarine, Mr. Incredible is interrupted by the dastardly Bomb Voyage, who is intent on crushing the crowd of onlookers underneath the sub! Meanwhile, Bob tells Jack-Jack a bedtime story that has Violet and Dash calling foul; could this battle from his glory days really be true? On a visit to the park, Jack-Jack uses his powers to overcome a worthy opponent!”

Category: Returning to a Beloved World

Why I’m Excited: A few weeks ago, you could feel the excitement in the air as the long awaited sequel to, as Glen Weldon described it, “the best superhero movie ever made (fight me).” And while it’s hard to live up to such a beloved original, the consensus is that they did, which is true in my opinion. I assume that Jack-Jack will be used just as well in this comic as he was in the movie. (And on a related note, I didn’t realize how much I missed Sarah Vowell. I immediately went back to her segments from This American Life.)

Dark Horse Comics

Nu Way

“In the future, technology continues to dominate every aspect of civilization, and nowhere is it more on display than the city of New Sheng, a vast metropolis where those with means live high amongst the lights and those without wallow in the shadows below. In his desperate struggle to reach a better life, a young fighter named Zihao has sacrificed his body in the ring and now prepares to pay an even bigger price in order to battle in the main arena with the elite cybernetically-enhanced warriors.”

Category: Emerging Talent

Why I’m Excited: As was highlighted by the gone-too-soon New Super-Man (by Gene Luen Yang), the idea of what constitutes superheroiocs in Asian cultures may not be the same as a Westerner’s concept. While the setup may seem a trope-y, the execution promises to be top notch.

Aspen Comics

Ruinworld

“Intrepid adventurers Pogo and Rex are on a quest for fame and fortune. Their discovery of a special map leads them on an epic journey through dangers, demons and old enemies. There’s one tiny problem—they’ve already lost the map..”

Category: Emerging Talent

Why I’m Excited: Confession time: as a kiddo, I really loved The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin. There was something about the continuing quest narrative that whet my appetite for other adventure narratives, and soon enough I was reading and rereading Black Cauldron. I even wrote an episode script that my mom found recently. I’m not sure why I get that vibe from the solicit for Ruinworld, but even if the tone and plot are nothing like that 1986 classic (it’s a fox and pig—I know, different), I am super excited to get 20-plus pages of Laufman art every month.

BOOM! Studios

She Could Fly

“In Chicago, an unknown woman appears flying at speeds of 120 miles per hour and at heights reaching 2,000 feet. Then she suddenly dies in a fiery explosion mid-air. No one knows who she was, how she flew, or why. Luna, a disturbed 15-year-old girl, becomes obsessed with learning everything about her while rumors and conspiracy theories roil. Will cracking the secrets of the Flying Woman’s inner life lead to the liberation from her own troubled mind?”

Category: Tried and True Creators

Why I’m Excited: I am in the middle of watching Halt and Catch Fire and finding it a compelling story about the obsessive need to accomplish great things—but also how the same thing that can give people purpose and meaning can get in the way of human connections. In interviews, Christopher Cantwell, co-creator of that show and writer of She Could Fly, has spoken about how his own adolescent bouts with mental illness informed the story, and I’m interested to read this new take on “cape-spotting.” Additionally, Martin Morazzo, the artist of Electric Sublime and Ice Cream Man, is a rising star I will happily give a perusal. (Also, this needs to blow up big so that the other Christopher Cantwell gets knocked down a few pages on Google searches.)

Dark Horse Comics

X-23

Publisher: MarvelWords/Story: Mariko TamakiArt/Colors: Juan Cabal

“Cloned from a warrior, raised as a killer, Laura Kinney has gone through hell and come out the other side a hero. After a stint as the All-New Wolverine, she returns to her roots as X-23 to make sure no one ever has to go through the horrors she did. With her sister Gabby and their pet Jonathan in tow, X-23 forges her own destiny.”

Category: Like They Need Any Promotional Help

Why I’m Excited: For me, Marilo Tamaki is still flying high from the great Super Mutant Magic Academy and This One Summer. I did try the Hulk issues for a while, but they didn’t seem to have the right tone, and the pacing was slower than I typically like—I’m hoping that the shift to a younger protagonist will be a better fit. And who doesn’t love Gabby and Jonathan? With Logan is coming back, I’m glad that Laura isn’t being put on a shelf like so many of the heroines who have had books canceled in the past few months (Spider-Woman and Patsy Walker). Long live Wolverine!

Marvel Comics

Relay

Publisher: AfterShockWords/Story: Zac ThompsonArt/Colors: Andy Clark

“A perfect future of intergalactic travel and community. Every newly discovered planet is unified culturally through a monolithic structure known as the Galactic Relay. Jad Carter, a Relay employee, must keep the peace and act as an emissary to new civilizations. But when he finds the Relay’s mythological creator, Hank Donaldson, his idea of the universe shatters. Equal parts The Fifth Element and Philip K. Dick; an exploration of monoculture, identity, and the deceptive nature of legend.”

Category: Emerging Talent

Why I’m Excited: I’m loving Her Infernal Descent, written by Zac Thompson with Lonnie Nadler, and even though the solicit for Relay makes comparisons to a story/author mashup that I have trouble reconciling, the premise reminds me of a line from Deep Space Nine (in season 4’s “For the Cause”) musing on how different the Federation and the Borg actually are. And the cover references 2001, makes me wonder what “elements of Dick” are actually in the story.